Going to German cities – watch a football game and also look around

Tip: Learn German. I’ve met quite a bit of people in Germany who didn’t speak English very well and this included old and young people.

I recommend going to all these different German cities for the local sights and sounds which might include a castle or museum or whatever and a football game. People might argue that it’s just a spectator sport and it’s all part of the “circuses and bread” show like what Rome used to provide in the past with its memorable Coliseum games. Yes, I agree that watching TV is probably not the healthiest thing in the world but it’s different when you go to the game because you had to take yourself out of the living room (or hotel room if you’re traveling) to go to the stadium. By doing so, you extend yourself to an increased exposure of all 5 senses to something new: tasting the new foods or drinks there, smelling the grass (and pollution) and different types of food being cooked, touching new places that you’ve gone to, feeling the roar of the crowd that cannot emulated via TV, and hearing the screams and thrills of the people around you in the stadium.

Hey look, it’s a castle… another castle in Europe. You might be like me and get all “castled” the hell out. You get castle-tired and stop giving a damn about them because there are so many especially in Europe.

That’s why going to a game is more than just watching through the TV screen. You get far more exposure not just to the game but also the country’s culture. If you observe closely, as you are going to the stadium, Germans are big on the social aspect of eating merrily, drinking happily, and talking among their friends and family. And football is a big topic/theme for them as a great excuse to get out of the house, get some fresh air, and talk. What’s the most valuable thing that you can provide to someone? Spending time with them. Face-to-face is big in Germany.

So do what the Germans do! Go out traveling and go to the games. They are relatively cheap and you can partake in what the locals do! And sometimes there is not much to do in the city once you get there. I like to use the football game as a good excuse to travel there whereas I might not do it at all because there is no great urge to go there in the first place. Although big cities like London can provide a lot of opportunities to do stuff like fishing (outside of the city, but within an hour’s travel) and watch football, smaller cities might have that much less to see and do. Hell, football’s all there is to see!

So I climbed to the top of the hill where the castle is… is there anything else to do here at Heidelberg other than see the castle?

What’s the best thing to do? Take the train to other cities. You can see more of the country and it’s generally cheaper than taking a plane. There are no security measures to go through like in an airport, more space to walk around and stretch your legs, and the long trip trains have a restaurant on-board. If you’re in first class, you will have access to an electric outlet (220 V) and free wifi! Some of the major train stations in Germany are like malls if you have ever been to one!

Germany’s passenger train company is called DB aka Deutsche Bahn. These are just an example of what the seats might look like. And sometimes all 6 seats are taken!

Tip: Bring a form of ID, preferably a passport. Due to high numbers of illegals coming into Germany and Europe, the police and even the train workers have been more diligent to ensure criminals are not breaking the law in their country or continent. As long as you have your documentation on you and prepared to show, it’s basically show and go. Maybe a few questions and that’s it. Usually, the conversation is in German or English; generally, once you open your mouth and they determine that you’re from a Western country, they let you go pretty quickly.

Tip: If you are into the beer scene, then take this route of trains, trains, trains because every town/city/village and region boasts how their beer is the best meaning there are thousands of beer of different flavors waiting to be tasted by beer/alcohol aficionados. By traveling on train, you can see how the beer’s flavors were adopted by the locals to make it adjust to their taste buds. Just don’t go overboard on the booze factor to where you get obscenely loud with your lever stuck on full retard mode and start fighting other people. Not good at all.

Tip: If you have a ticket for a football game, you don’t need to buy a ticket for local transportation. The football ticket is your transportation ticket. They do this so everyone is not driving to the stadium and causing a huge traffic jam of potential accidents and drunken slug-fests. For example, I’d take the train (this train ticket had to be bought) from Frankfurt to Berlin and then check into my hotel. Then I would take the metro (train/subway) to the stadium for free, watch the game, and then go back to my hotel via metro (train) for free. No extra ticket needed. Only had to pay for the game ticket and the train ticket to get to the Berlin. Best to read up on the rules if you are not sure. This is only in Germany. Not in the UK even if you go to a football game there. Not in London where you need an Oyster Card!